How to Handle “You Haven’t Seen What?!”

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Today there’s about a bajillion (scientific calculation) TV shows, movies and other content to watch. It’s fantastic. If I’m in the mood to watch a TV show staring a snarky, strong female Netflix has a shocking variety of options and if I want to marathon Gossip Girl I can. But with all of this content readily available to us, there’s a constant feeling of being behind and not having seen everything out there. As an entertainment and media geek I often feel judged by being behind on a show or not having seen “that” movie. “You haven’t seen [insert the thing here]?!? I am harshly judging you right now!” Am I alone? I hope not. Here’s a few tips for how to handle someone’s violent reaction to finding out you haven’t seen something they think is required viewing.

“I know.”

Sometimes the best way to deal with the 12th person who says you should watch Lost is to agree. They’ll feel validated and likely bore themselves by recounting all of the reasons why they love the series/film/network leaving you time to think about that episode of The Walking Dead you paused to come to this party. They won’t even notice.

“Don’t judge me.”

If you’ve got a bit of attitude and sass to pull it off, it’s great to try to teach the offender a small lesson by giving them a taste of their own medicine. A short rant on why they shouldn’t be so quick to judge followed by a list you think they should’ve seen might make them realize that their righteous indignation may have been misplaced.

“Never heard of it.”

The next time someone tells you to watch Firefly you should use this response. It’d be really fun but be prepared to physically defend yourself. Messing with someone who is trying to adamantly convince you to watch their “favorite thing ever!” is a losing battle but it might also be kind of fun to seen how they react.

But in all seriousness, the most important realization for anyone found in this situation should be that judgement of others doesn’t really accomplish anything. In fact, a little more empathy and understanding might just help us all get along.